Alert archive / Tennessee / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Memphis, TN

April 16, 1998Carroll County, Tennessee

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 1998, 5:15 AM CDT for Carroll County, Tennessee. It was in force for 35 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 16, 1998, 5:15 AM CDT (10:15 UTC)
Expired
Apr 16, 1998, 5:50 AM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Carroll County, TN

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 125 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:17 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 16, 4:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 167 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1998-04-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 449 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1998-04-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 78 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
449 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1158 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
155 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 161015 RRA
TORMEM
TNC017-161050-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
515 AM CDT THU APR 16 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CARROLL COUNTY IN WESTERN TENNESSEE

* UNTIL 550 AM CDT

* AT 514 AM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 9 MILES SOUTH
  OF HUNTINGDON OR 5 MILES WEST OF CLARKSBURG MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CLARKSBURG BY 520 AM CDT

.IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A
CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USnE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO
COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 16, 4:59 AM CDT, 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
459 AM CDT THU APR 16 1998

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0210 AM    JONESBORO                 AR   WIND DAMAGE
04/16/98   CRAIGHEAD                      3 TRAILERS AND AN
                                          OUTBUILDING WERE DESTROYED
                                          IN JONESBORO. ONE TRAILER
                                          WAS MOVED OFF ITS
                                          FOUNDATION 2 MILES NE OF
                                          JONESBORO.

0235 AM    TIPTONVILLE               TN   .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98   LAKE                           DIME SIZE HAIL

0305 AM    MANILA                    AR   TORNADO
04/16/98   MISSISSIPPI                    *** 2 DEAD ***
                                          EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN
                                          MANILA. TREES DOWN. MOBILE
                                          HOMES DAMAGED.

0325 AM    BLYTHEVILLE               AR   TORNADO
04/16/98   MISSISSIPPI                    TREES DOWN. DAMAGE TO
                                          BUILDINGS.

0405 AM    RO ELLEN                  TN   TORNADO
04/16/98   DYER                           SEVERAL HOMES WERE
                                          DAMAGED. A MOBILE HOME WAS
                                          DESTROYED WITH 2 PERSONS
                                          REPORTED MISSING. NUMEROUS
                                          TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN.

0420 AM    MAURY CITY                TN   WIND DAMAGE
04/16/98   CROCKETT                       SEVERAL TREES WERE BLOWN
                                          DOWN.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 2:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLake, Obion47 min
Apr 16, 3:35 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGDyer35 min
Apr 16, 3:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLauderdale34 min
Apr 16, 4:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCrockett33 min
Apr 16, 4:14 AM CDTTornado WarningMEGCrockett31 min
Apr 16, 4:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGGibson31 min
Apr 16, 4:57 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll48 min
Apr 16, 7:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLake35 min
Apr 16, 8:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGObion35 min
Apr 16, 10:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGShelby50 min
Apr 16, 1:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHenderson32 min
Apr 16, 2:04 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHenderson21 min
Apr 16, 2:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardeman33 min
Apr 16, 2:24 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardeman, McNairy51 min
Apr 16, 2:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHenderson21 min
Apr 16, 3:03 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardin47 min
Apr 16, 4:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardin, McNairy49 min
Apr 16, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGChester35 min
Apr 16, 4:35 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGChester35 min
Apr 16, 4:36 PM CDTTornado WarningMEGHardin34 min
Apr 16, 4:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHenderson34 min
Apr 16, 5:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardeman31 min
Apr 16, 5:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardin34 min
Apr 16, 5:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGMcNairy33 min
Apr 16, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGHardin31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Tennessee, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.